Although the college basketball season officially started on Tuesday, tonight is the unofficial opening night for the game in the region. Five of the City Six teams are in action, and of the Schuylkill 16:

City Six Games

Seton Hall at Temple, 7:00 p.m. (no TV or radio)
Columbia at La Salle, 7:00 p.m. (WHAT 1340-AM)
Western Kentucky at Saint Joseph's, 7:30 p.m. (no TV or radio)
Bucknell at Villanova, 8:00 p.m. (ESPN3.com/WPEN 950-AM)
Drexel at Loyola (Md.), 8:00 p.m. (no TV or radio)

I wasn't able to get to the local college football coaches' luncheon this week, so I don't have any anecdotes or great storylines to share about today's games. The biggest story is well-known to all of you anyway: Joe Paterno's quest for his 400th career win as Penn State hosts Northwestern.

Here are the rankings and predictions for today's games.

Local Sagarin rankings

Each team's ranking progression through the season is listed from left to right.

43. Penn State (54-62-66-32-22-22-27-24-10)
51. Temple (57-70-65-56-50-46-60-59-99)
55. Villanova (64-79-95-77-72-69-71-104-64)
62. Delaware (59-56-35-48-66-92-65-106-112)
87. Rutgers (88-82-107-86-67-53-57-39-60)
130. Penn (140-163-199-140-131-131-128-130-135)
142. Lehigh (162-168-197-168-162-168-143-146)
223. Lafayette (229-232-236-207-198-204-220-141-156)
229. Princeton (233-233-234-201-181-208-187-189-187)
238. Bucknell (247-240-244-237-238-235-235-230-213)
241. Delaware State (241-241-241-230-227-221-222-220-204)

Villanova is now the highest-ranked I-AA team in Sagarin. Delaware is second, and William & Mary is third at No. 63. Teams ranked below the Wildcats include Notre Dame, Maryland, Northwestern and Boston College. The first and last of those four ought to make Wildcats fans especially happy.

Sagarin predictions for selected games

I-A rankings are by the BCS standings, I-AA rankings are by The Sports Network. All games are Saturday unless otherwise noted. The current Sagarin home-field advantage factor 3.03 points.

No. 3 Villanova at Rhode Island (1:00 p.m., WPEN 950-AM): Villanova by 17 (72.06 to 51.91 + 3.03)
Temple at Kent State (2:00 p.m., WPHT 1210-AM): Temple by 9 (73.18 to 61.50 + 3.03)
No. 18 Penn at Princeton, (3:00 p.m., Versus/WFIL 560-AM): Penn by 21 (58.04 to 33.71 + 3.03)
Northwestern at Penn State (3:30 p.m., ABC): Penn State by 9 (75.43 + 3.03 to 8.95)

No. 3 TCU at No. 5 Utah (3:30 p.m., CBS College Sports): TCU by 1 (91.57 to 87.42 + 3.03)
No. 6 Alabama at No. 10 LSU (3:30 p.m., CBS): LSU by 1 (86.16 + 3.03 to 87.72)
Washington at No. 1 Oregon (3:30 p.m., ESPN2 SD only): Oregon by 23 (94.54 + 3.03 to 74.11)
No. 18 Arkansas at No. 19 South Carolina (7:00 p.m., ESPN): South Carolina by 2 (82.03 + 3.03 to 82.88)

Oregon is the overall No. 1 ranked team in Sagarin, with TCU second and Stanford third. Missouri is fourth and Nebraska is fifth, even though the Cornhukers beat the Tigers in Lincoln last week. Auburn is No. 6 and Boise State is No. 7.

If TCU beats Utah today, you have to wonder if Boise is going to be able to jump over the Horned Frogs in the BCS standings. It might not happen.

This is a relatively minor item as things go, but I thought it would be an unusual way to start off this week's local college football preview post.

The Heisman Trophy Trust is in town today to present the Penn athletic department with one of the eponymous pieces of hardware. It is in honor of the dedication of the school's new fitness facility that has been built under the north side arches at Franklin Field.

That the facility is being dedicated this weekend is due primarily to it being Homecoming weekend at Penn, but it's of no small consequence that the Quakers are playing Brown in particular today. John Heisman played for both Brown and Penn during his college career. He was with the Bears from 1887 to 1889, and the Quakers from 1890 to 1891. He later coached at Penn from 1920-1922.

As far as I can tell, Penn gets to keep the trophy. It's not like the Stanley Cup or other silverware that gets rented by each year's winner. Here's hoping that the school displays the trophy in a place that is at least somewhat accessible to the public, so that fans who wouldn't otherwise get near a Heisman trophy can see it in person.

And before you ask, I don't know if the particular trophy that Penn will receive is the former property of Reggie Bush. But you're welcome to crack whatever jokes you'd like to about that potentially being the case.

So let's turn to today's gridiron action. All four local teams are at home, and they all have very big games. At the I-A level, Temple can tie Ohio at the top of the MAC East Division at 4-1, and Penn State has a nationally televised prime-time showdown against Michigan.

At the I-AA level, Richmond visits Villanova in a battle of teams ranked in the top 15 nationally, while Brown and Penn are the only two Ivy League teams remaining with perfect records in conference play. The winner will have the inside track to this season's Ancient Eight title.

You can hear more about today's Villanova and Penn games in the audio player below, which has the tracks from this week's local college football coaches luncheon. Wildcats coach Andy Talley and Quakers coach Al Bagnoli both spoke, as did Penn running back and kickoff/punt returner Bradford Blackmon.

You'll notice in Bagnoli's remarks that there is a reference to a bobblehead figurine of Dan "Coach Lake" Staffieri, the longtime assistant to the program and team spirit leader who passed away back in April. As of now, the bobbleheads are not available to the public because there is only a limited quantity, but Penn might make more of them in the future if there's demand.

Local Sagarin rankings

Each team's ranking progression through the season is listed from left to right.

54. Penn State (62-66-32-22-22-27-24-10)
57. Temple (70-65-56-50-46-60-59-99)
59. Delaware (56-35-48-66-92-65-106-112)
64. Villanova (79-95-77-72-69-71-104-64)
88. Rutgers (82-107-86-67-53-57-39-60)
140. Penn (163-199-140-131-131-128-130-135)
162. Lehigh (168-197-168-162-168-143-146)
229. Lafayette (232-236-207-198-204-220-141-156)
233. Princeton (233-234-201-181-208-187-189-187)
241. Delaware State (241-241-230-227-221-222-220-204)
247. Bucknell (240-244-237-238-235-235-230-213)

Delaware remains the highest-ranked I-AA team in Sagarin, with Stephen F. Austin second at No. 62 and Villanova third. Maryland and Cincinnati are the teams ranked directly below the Blue Hens. Georgia Tech, Northwestern and Vanderbilt are ranked below all three. Hooray for the smart kids.

Sagarin predictions for selected games

I-A rankings are by the BCS standings, I-AA rankings are by The Sports Network. All games are Saturday unless otherwise noted. The current Sagarin home-field advantage factor is 2.95 points.

Akron at Temple (1:00 p.m., WHAT 1340-AM): Temple by 36 (71.91 + 2.95 to 39.02)
Michigan at Penn State 8:00 p.m., ESPN/WNTP 990-AM): Michigan by 1 (76.49 to 75.82 + 2.95)
No. 14 Richmond at No. 5 Villanova (12:00 p.m., Comcast Network/WPEN 950-AM): Villanova by 16 (70.60 + 2.95 to 57.11)
Brown at No. 21 Penn (1:30 p.m., WNTP 990-AM): Penn by 13 (56.44 + 2.95 to 46.25)

No. 5 Michigan State at No. 18 Iowa (3:30 p.m., ABC): Iowa by 1 (85.01 + 2.95 to 86.74)
No. 6 Missouri at No. 14 Nebraska (3:30 p.m., ESPN): Missouri by 2 (92.39 to 87.42 + 2.95)
No. 1 Auburn at Mississippi (6:00 p.m., ESPN): Auburn by 16 (88.96 to 69.45 + 2.95)
No. 2 Oregon at Southern California (8:00 p.m., ABC): Oregon by 6 (92.59 to 83.46 + 2.95)

Akron, with an 0-8 record, is the lowest-ranked I-A team in Sagarin at No. 216. The Zips have lost at home to Syracuse, Gardner-Webb, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, and on the road to Kentucky, Indiana, Kent State and Ohio. Akron has given up at least 28 points in every game, more than 35 points six times and more than 50 points twice. The only game that Akron lost by one possession was against Gardner-Webb, a 38-37 defeat in overtime.

The next-lowest-ranked I-A team is No. 197 New Mexico, which is 0-7. In other words, it's a long way down.

At the other end of the rankings, the top five teams this week are Oregon, Missouri, TCU, Oklahoma and Boise Stae. Auburn is No. 6, while 7-1 Ohio State is ranked higher (No. 7) than undefeated Michigan State (No. 13). The two teams do not meet this season, which is the biggest reason why the Spartans have a very good chance of winning the Big Ten if they can survive the trip to Iowa today.

We have spent a fair amount of time this season talking on here and elsewhere about Villanova's potential move to the Big East for football. I don't think it's sticking my neck out there too much to say that much of the conversation has been based a lot more on speculation than fact.

Here's something that might change that imbalance a bit. I spoke with Wildcats coach Andy Talley about the various rumors at the local college football coaches luncheon yesterday, and Talley offered an update on proceedings without much prompting.

As far as what's been going on behind the scenes, it's been very quiet. I think Villanova is doing their due diligence, which is to spend time within the administrative level discussing pros and cons. And any discussion that's been going between Big East officials and Villanova, I haven't been privy to.

So I know a decision is going to be made some time in December, we hope, and at that point in time, it's really going to be whatever is in the best interest of Villanova University.

Talley also admitted that while he's tried to keep the off-the-field discussions separate from on-the-field matters, the rumors and speculation have been "a distraction" to his team. Granting that the conversations between Villanova and the Big East are going on whether anyone likes it or not, Talley said he has enough to deal with in the CAA.

Our players have not discussed it at all, and I've not discussed it with our players in any way, shape or form. Because as I mentioned earlier, it is a distraction to us. We're in-season now, and really, we're not interested. We're an FCS football team trying to survive in an animal league. So we really have not even talked with the players about that.

Now I am going to stick my neck out a bit. I really don't care whether Villanova makes the move or not, but I do care about the tone of the conversation that's been going on across many blogs and Twitter over the course of this season. I know a lot of people who are very passionate about this, and I suspect you do too.

It does no one any good to try to spin one's wishes and hopes into statements that people might perceive as facts, or at the very least rumors with substance. I've certainly tried to stir the pot on here a few times, but I've tried to do it in a way that hasn't made it sound like I know what's actually going to happen. I'm not so sure that even Villanova's administration knows at this point what's going to happen in the end.

What I hope is that everyone who writes about this story, whether as a professional journalist or a blogging fan, uses as many facts and as few rumors as possible. I don't care who writes about it or who talks to whom. If news gets broken on a blog, fine; especially when it comes to college sports, many blogs out there cover specific schools much more closely than the mainstream media can.

I guess what it comes down to is this. If you hear something, and you write your own blog, put it out there, but put a name to the source of the information. If the source wants to be anonymous, at least give your readers some kind of idea of where the statement is coming from. That will save fans and journalists alike from chasing wild geese across the Internet.

Alright, enough of that. Let's talk about some real football and look ahead to Saturday's action. I'm heading north to West Haven, Conn., to cover Penn's first Ivy League road game of the season at Yale. I'll be hosting a live chat during the game, and I'll also be writing a story for the Inquirer. The kickoff is at noon, and if you get the YES Network you can watch the game on TV.

Local Sagarin rankings

Each team's ranking progression through the season is listed from left to right.

56. Delaware (35-48-66-92-65-106-112)
62. Penn State (66-32-22-22-27-24-10)
70. Temple (65-56-50-46-60-59-99)
79. Villanova (95-77-72-69-71-104-64)
82. Rutgers (107-86-67-53-57-39-60)
163. Penn (199-140-131-131-128-130-135)
168. Lehigh (197-168-162-168-143-146)
232. Lafayette (236-207-198-204-220-141-156)
233. Princeton (234-201-181-208-187-189-187)
240. Bucknell (244-237-238-235-235-230-213)
241. Delaware State (241-230-227-221-222-220-204)

Delaware remains the top-ranked I-AA team in Sagarin. Among the I-A teams ranked below the undefeated Blue Hens (7-0) are Georgia Tech, Northwestern and Tennessee, all of which play nationally televised games this weekend. Delaware's game at William & Mary will air on the Comcast Network at 12 p.m.

Villanova's home game against James Madison will not be televised at all, despite the fact that both teams are ranked in the top 15 of the Sports Network's Top 25 poll, and that the series has produced some terrific games over the last few years.

Sagarin predictions for selected games

I-A rankings are by the BCS standings, I-AA rankings are by The Sports Network. All games are Saturday unless otherwise noted. The current Sagarin home-field advantage factor is 3.50 points.

Temple at Buffalo (12:00 p.m., WPVI-6): Temple by 5 (69.39 to 60.47 + 3.50)
Penn State at Minnesota (12:00 p.m., ESPNU): Penn State by 10 (70.77 to 57.53 + 3.50)
No. 20 Penn at Yale (12:00 p.m., YES Network): Yale by 1 (49.46 + 3.50 to 51.93)
No. 11 James Madison at No. 6 Villanova (3:30 p.m.): Villanova by 5 (67.35 + 3.50 to 65.60)

Notre Dame vs. Navy at East Rutherford, N.J. (12:00 p.m., CBS): Notre Dame by 5 (77.51 to 72.37)
No. 6 Louisiana State at No. 4 Auburn (3:30 p.m., CBS): Auburn by 4 (86.38 to 87.67 + 3.50)
No. 13 Wisconsin at No. 15 Iowa (3:30 p.m., ABC): Wisconsin by 7 (83.19 to 72.27 + 3.50)
No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 11 Missouri (8:00 p.m., ABC): Missouri by 2 (89.12 + 3.50 to 90.80)

Yes, Yale is favored to beat Penn. I have my doubts about that, so we'll see whether the computers or the humans get it right this time.

It's a relatively quiet weekend on the local college football scene, as none of the region's Division I teams are playing at home. Temple is at Northern Illinois, Penn is at Bucknell, and Villanova has a bye week. The closest Division I-A home games to us are Penn State's homecoming clash with Illinois and Rutgers' Big East opener against Connecticut, the latter of which took place last night.

So we'll keep this post short, and just run through the Sagarin ratings and predictions. Enjoy today's games, and feel free to share your thoughts on the action in the comments.

Local Sagarin ratings

32. Penn State (22-22-27-24-10)
48. Delaware (66-92-65-106-112)
56. Temple (50-46-60-59-99)
77. Villanova (72-69-71-104-64)
86. Rutgers (67-53-57-39-60)
140. Penn (131-131-128-130-135)
168. Lehigh (162-168-143-146)
201. Princeton (181-208-187-189-187)
207. Lafayette (198-204-220-141-156)
230. Delaware State (227-221-222-220-204)
237. Bucknell (238-235-235-230-213)

Of note, Delaware is the top-ranked I-AA team in Sagarin. Among the I-A teams ranked below the Blue Hens are Washington, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Navy and Boston College.

Sagarin predictions for selected games

I-A rankings by the AP, I-AA rankings by The Sports Network

Illinois at Penn State (12:00 p.m., ESPN2): Penn State by 10 (78.83 + 3.00 to 72.14)
Temple at Northern Illinois (12:00 p.m., WPVI-6): Temple by 4 (73.06 to 66.47 + 3.00)
Penn at Bucknell (1:00 p.m., no TV): Penn by 25 (54.97 to 26.54 + 3.00)

No. 1 Alabama at No. 19 South Carolina (3:30 p.m., CBS): Alabama by 14 (97.96 to 81.35 + 3.00)
No. 17 Michigan State at No. 18 Michigan (3:30 p.m., ABC): Michigan by 5 (81.82 + 3.00 to 79.92)
No. 23 Florida State at 13 Miami (Fla.) (8:00 p.m., ABC): Miami by 3 (86.59 plus 3.00 to 86.28)

For the record, the top five I-A schools in Sagarin are Alabama, Oregon, Boise State, Florida and Oklahoma. Miami is No. 10 and Florida State is No. 11.

Oregon's Sagarin rating number is 92.58 and Boise State's is 92.57. Think there's any way the Broncos jump over the Ducks if the two teams remain undefeated?

Villanova football coach Andy Talley announced yesterday that Wildcats star Matt Szczur is "questionable" for Saturday's big game at William & Mary, and will likely be a "game-time decision."

"We're not sure where he is at this point," Talley said. "It's just a little early to tell. So we're going to hold off."

Talley said that his team's hard-fought games against Temple and Penn were good preparation for the Wildcats' first conference road trip of the season. There is certainly a lot of buzz in Williamsburg around Saturday's matchup, as Villanova and William & Mary were Nos. 1 and 2 in the CAA preseason poll.

It has not gone unnoticed that Villanova has beaten the Tribe six times in a row. The most recent win came in the semifinals of last year's I-AA playoffs. Cary Field will be sold out, and the game will be televised here on Comcast SportsNet.

"We feel like we've been in the fire, and we're ready for what we're going to find out at William & Mary," Talley said. "It's a must game for us, and it's a must game for them. It's what our league is about."

The hype around the game got dented a bit when the Tribe's starting quarterback, Rob Callahan, injured his throwing arm shoulder last week. Mike Paulus, a transfer from North Carolina, will start under center.

You've probably heard of Paulus' brother: Greg played four years of basketball at Duke, then transferred to Syracuse and played quarterback for the Orange for a season.

'Nova is still licking a few wounds from Saturday's 22-10 win over Penn, a game that Talley called "probably the most physical game that we've had with each other over our tenure of playing."

"I told our staff that I really think this is the best Penn team that we've seen," Talley said. "We're pretty good, and I thought the played great. They were extremely physical."

Talley revealed that the game's decisive play, Jimmy Pitts' 56-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, happened in part because Pitts got his assignment wrong.

"We were fortunate that Jimmy Pitts lined up on the wrong guy," Talley said. "He should have been on the wideout and he jumped inside."

Here are a few other notes from yesterday's local college football coaches' luncheon:

- Penn coach Al Bagnoli said that Billy Ragone will start at quarterback for the Quakers in their Ivy League opener against Dartmouth at Franklin Field on Friday. But Kieffer Garton "may" play in the game as well, Bagnoli said.

Bagnoli added that Garton "practiced all week, so he's pretty close to being ready."

Andy Talley said he has no doubt about how Penn will fare in the Ancient Eight.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun watching the Quakers go on and win the Ivy title," he said. "So I'm putting the bead on [Bagnoli's] back right now."

- Villanova came up with the money to fly to Saturday's game in Williamsburg. Rowan, on the other hand, had no such luck. The Profs will take the bus to Buffalo, N.Y., for their game against Buffalo State.

Rowan coach Jay Accorsi hopes the trip isn't a repeat of the last time his team traveled to upstate New York. One of the team's buses had a mechanical problem, and could only move at 30 mph.

- Ursinus recorded a whopping 44:06 of time of possession in their 24-7 win over Susquehanna. In the audio player below, you can listen to Bears coach Pete Gallagher explain what it took to hold on the ball for so much of the game.

Local Sagarin ratings

22. Penn State (22-27-24-10)
50. Temple (46-60-59-99)
66. Delaware (92-65-106-112)
67. Rutgers (53-57-39-60)
72. Villanova (69-71-104-64)
131. Penn (131-128-130-135)
162. Lehigh (162-168-143-146)
181. Princeton (208-187-189-187)
198. Lafayette (204-220-141-156)
227. Delaware State (221-222-220-204)
238. Bucknell (235-235-230-213)

Sagarin predictions for selected games

(All games Saturday unless otherwise noted. I-A rankings by the AP, I-AA rankings by The Sports Network)

No. 22 Penn State at No. 18 Iowa (8:00 p.m., ESPN): Iowa by 2 (80.71 + 3.00 to 81.72)
Temple at Army (12:00 p.m., CBS College Sports): Temple by 6 (74.01 to 64.71 + 3.00)
No. 1 Villanova at No. 7 William & Mary (3:30 p.m., Comcast SportsNet): Villanova by 2 (69.79 to 64.70 + 3.00)
Dartmouth at Penn (3:30 p.m., Comcast Network): Penn by 16 (57.01 + 3.00 to 44.14)
Delaware at No. 3 James Madison (12:00 p.m., Comcast Network): James Madison by 7 (77.37 + 3.00 to 71.21)

No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 24 Michigan State (3:30 p.m., ABC): Michigan State by 1 (76.45 + 3.00 to 79.15)
No. 21 Texas vs. No. 8 Oklahoma at Dallas (3:30 p.m., ESPN*): Oklahoma by 4 (87.48 to 83.54)
No. 7 Florida at No. 1 Alabama (8:00 p.m., CBS): Alabama by 5 (93.68 + 3.00 to 92.11)
No. 9 Stanford at No. 4 Oregon (8:00 p.m., ESPN2*): Oregon by 6 (89.85 + 3.00 to 86.62)

* - These are ABC reverse mirror games. They will be broadcast in standard definition. The 8:00 p.m. ABC game on local broadcast here is Notre Dame at Boston College. Coverage maps for all of ABC's games this weekend are here.

James Madison, by the way, is ranked No. 36 in Sagarin. That's the highest ranking for a I-AA team by a long way. Delaware is the second-highest-ranked I-AA team. Alabama and Florida are Nos. 1 and 2 in the overall Sagarin ranking, with Boise State No. 3.

The words could have come from the mouth of Al Bagnoli or Al Golden.

"This whole game, I thought we had a chance," the losing coach said. "One of the problems in this game is you can't make a mistake. Your margin of error is basically nil, and we made some big mistakes."

In this instance, it was Bagnoli speaking into the press room microphones at Villanova. But it's not hard to draw parallels between Penn's 22-10 loss at Villanova and Temple's 22-13 loss at Penn State. Both underdogs had chances to pull off historic upsets today, but came up short.

Only the diehard Quakers and Owls fans would have thought that their teams would hold leads in second half .Yet there they were: Temple ahead of Penn State, 13-12, late in the third quarter, and Penn up on Villanova, 10-9, well into the fourth.

Although both home teams took the lead back, the visitors still had their chances. Temple had a drive going with just over two minutes left, and a touchdown would have brought the Owls within a field goal. Penn was even closer, at Villanova's 46 down five points with four and a half minutes remaning.

But Chester Stewart and Billy Ragone both killed any chances of comebacks by throwing interceptions. Stewart threw two in the last three and half minutes of the game, while Ragone's one was returned for a touchdown.

Coincidentally, Ragone's pick-six meant that Villanova and Penn State both finished the day with 22 points on the scoreboard.

"It's one of those games where they force you, because of their athleticism, to play virtually a perfect game, which is really hard to do," Bagnoli said.

Injuries were certainly a factor in both games. Matt Szczur's sprained ankle constrained Villanova's dynamic offense, especially its Wildcats plays. Bernard Pierce also left the game with an ankle injury, forcing Temple's offense to rely much more on quarterback Chester Stewart. Penn was less affected by Lyle Marsh's broken arm, which in all likelihood ended his season. But Marsh was the best of the Quakers' many running backs at forcing his way through Villanova's defensive line.

Of the two losing teams, Temple has to be hurt the most. This was a chance for the Owls to make a big statement on a national stage, and assert themselves as a true rising power. It was also the program's best chance by far finally beat a team that many of their fans truly loathe.

Penn and Villanova are more like quarreling brothers. There's relatively little enmity between the two fan bases. For as much as Penn wants to win the game, they don't really have anything to prove to anyone in the way that Temple does.

Furthermore, the Quakers came in with relatively low expectations, given Villanova's prowess and the visitors' lack of athletic scholarships. Penn's regular season is also pretty meaningless, because Ivy League teams don't go to the I-AA playoffs. So the only thing that really matters is the conference slate.

Still, both city schools' fan bases will be stinging a bit from this weekend. They can be forgiven for wondering if either team's losing streak will ever end. Perhaps the day will finally come at some point, but it won't be for at least another year.

There's a photo gallery from Temple-Penn State above, and you can listen to Penn and Villanova's postgame press conferences below. There's also a video in the player at right with some analysis from me and game highlights shot by my Philly.com colleague Dave Isaac.

Penn coach Al Bagnoli threw the gauntlet down early at yesterday's local college football coaches luncheon - and he was aiming at his own team.

The Quakers travel to No. 1-ranked Villanova on Saturday riding a 99-year losing streak against the Wildcats. Just in case you thought things might change this year, here's how Bagnoli described the task at hand:

"If you look at this year's team, scary as it may sounds, they may actually be better than last year's team," he said. "If we turn the ball over as much as we did in Week 1, it's going to get ugly."

Of course, that's been said about this game on a number of occasions in recent years, but it hasn't always turned out that way. Of the seven Penn-Villanova games played in this decade, four have been decided by one possession. Only one, a 34-14 final in 2007, was decided by more than two possessions.

It might not be a coincidence, though, that the 2007 game was plahyed at Villanova Stadium. So was the Wildcats' 17-3 win in 2002, which had the second-largest margin of victory of the seven games.

No wonder Bagnoli said he thinks the game should always be played at Franklin Field.

It would be one thing if Bagnoli was the only self-deprecating head coach involved in the matter. Villanova coach Andy Talley is every bit his counterpart's equal, though, when it comes to playing down expectations.

"The pressure is really on us, because everyone is saying, 'You should beat Penn,'" Talley said. "If you look at last year's 14-3 victory, it was very hard-fought, very difficult, with one of the best teams I've ever had."

Talley has been matching wits with Bagnoli ever since the duo coached in Division III, at St. Lawrence and Union, respectively.

"I always admired his defensive skills, and it's just carried over," Talley said. "They are very, very disciplined, and very physical - amongst the best defenses that we've played against, and you can ask any of our players."

I suppose any football coach would want to play up his team's next opponent, no matter what their caliber. But Talley might have another strategy in mind: preventing his players from looking ahead to next week's road trip to William & Mary.

The Wildcats and Tribe were picked as the top two teams in the CAA preseason poll. Of the three biggest games on Villanova's conference schedule this year, the other two - James Madison and Richmond - are at home. So next week will be a very big deal.

This week's game is not as big a deal, even though both Penn and Villanova say their game is a rivalry. In a way, it resembles the Temple-Villanova series, with the Wildcats playing the role of the team that isn't supposed to lose.

There's another game Saturday between teams whose series has been rather lopsided over the years: Temple at Penn State. The Owls haven't beaten the Nittany Lions since World War II, and there's been a lot of trash talk coming from North Broad Street about that streak ending this year.

As Bernard Fernandez wrote in yesterday's Daily News, Joe Paterno is a master at worrying about Penn State's opponents. The Owls got one of their biggest wins in years when they beat Connecticut, but playing at Beaver Stadium is a much tougher test.

Feel free to fire away with your thoughts on both games in the comments. I've also put up a poll for you to vote in. Which game do you think will be closer, Temple-Penn State or Penn-Villanova?

I'll be on the Main Line on Saturday night to liveblog the action, and I hope you'll join me. And yes, we'll be able to talk about Temple-Penn State too. Because, as you've told me many times, it's so obvious that I hate the Owls.

Enjoy the weekend.

Local Sagarin ratings

22. Penn State (27-24-10)
46. Temple (60-59-99)
53. Rutgers (57-39-60)
69. Villanova (71-104-64)
92. Delaware (65-106-112)
131. Penn (128-130-135)
162. Lehigh (168-143-146)
204. Lafayette (220-141-156)
208. Princeton (187-189-187)
221. Delaware State (222-220-204)
235. Bucknell (235-230-213)

Sagarin predictions for selected games

Today's Inquirer sports poll asks whether you'd rather have Temple running back Bernard Pierce or Penn State running back Evan Royster on your team. Cast your vote here, and share your thoughts in the comments.